On the afternoon of Wednesday, 30th March, the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School hosted a special parent-teacher meeting for Forms 1 and 2 at the Rodney MacArthur Auditorium. A modest number of parents turned out to hear the concerns of the Principal and teachers regarding the role of parents in partnering with the teachers for an improved school environment.
The two-hour long meeting brought to the fore many challenges that the staff faces on a daily basis: deviant behaviour; lack of respect; and a dire need for responsibility on the part of a minority of the students – among several others.
Also attending the meeting were the Honourable Minister of Education, Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development an Education, Mr. Bonnie Richardson-Lake, and the Director of the Department of Social Development, Ms. Lauren Gumbs.
In addressing the parents, the school’s Principal, Mrs. Rita Celestine-Carty, said: “Your partnership with us is greatly craved, and that is why we have invited you to this meeting today. We are going to increase your awareness of some challenges that we face from some of the students so that you would be better informed. Today, this is a general meeting about the issues, but we do intend to speak with you on an individual basis at a later date.”
She said that an important area which cannot be ignored is that of more supervision and guidance for the young students. She observed, “In this turbulent time of our young adolescents’ lives, better supervision and guidance would help their experience at school to be more profitable.”
To set the stage, Deputy Principal of Campus B, Mr. Perry Richardson, presented a rundown of the curriculum. He outlined the learning activities that the children should be focusing on when they are at school, on the shift system, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
This was followed by a presentation by Ms. Sharnette Shaw, Head of Year 2, who spoke to the parents on what is expected of the students. She highlighted the student’s contract and the parent’s contract, and emphasised how vital it is that both of them are honoured and respected as obligations to the school. The matter of the parent’s and student’s responsibilities was stressed to the extent to where they should make the contracts binding, thus creating a meaningful partnership for a wholesome learning environment.
Next, a large catalogue of challenges was presented by Ms. Cherise Gumbs: “It is my task to present to you some of the challenges that we are experiencing at Campus B,” she said. “I am not singling out anyone, or pointing any fingers, but I just want to shed some light on what we, as teachers, have been experiencing from the students.
“The first challenge is the attitude towards school and a low value on learning. This is bourne out in the lack of preparedness for class. Many of the students come to school without books, pens or pencils. They are simply not ready for learning.” She encouraged parents to assist the children in properly packing their bags, and making sure that they are equipped with the necessary tools that they will need in school.
“The next challenge,” Ms. Gumbs said, “is students’ lack of respect for self, parents and authority. For some of them, profanity comes naturally. Whether outside during break or in class, they exhibit indecent language, and sometimes they seem to be unaware of it.” She therefore encouraged the parents to speak to their children about the ‘ill reputation’ that is associated with swearing. “Besides, some of them run through the school and bump into teachers without apologising,” she said. She requested the parents to address this unmannerly trait.
“The third challenge is loitering,” Ms. Gumbs said. “Students walk up and down aimlessly, many times in groups. They walk upstairs and downstairs and upstairs again during the time that they should be getting to their classes. This causes them to reach their classes late.” She pointed out that every ‘lesson period’ is for a duration of only forty minutes, so the children cannot afford to lose precious time loitering. She asked parents to instill into the children the need to stay focused while they are in school.
“The next challenge is low student accountability. The students deny that they have done wrong when they do it. They do not own up to their actions or take responsibility for their behaviour.” She encouraged the parents to help the child understand that if he or she does something that is wrong he or she must take responsibility by acknowledging it.
“The next challenge is negative peer pressure.” Ms. Gumbs said: “I have had instances where a child does wrong at school and a parent is called The parent would respond by saying that the child does not behave that way at home. In school the children are faced with challenges of many kinds, and they might want to fit in some group. So, they go with the crowd and do what the crowd does.” She told the parents to coach their child into believing that “it is ok to be different. It is ok to stand out from the crowd [for goodness sake].”
Ms. Gumbs continued by saying that the next challenge was a lack of conflict resolution skills where some students do not know how to act sociably. She noted that they would fight and, upon investigating the cause, it usually turns out to be something quite negligible and insignificant. She encouraged the parents to teach the children some conflict resolution skills, and if they are unable to instruct the children in this area – or any other area for that matter – they can make use of the school counsellor who is qualified to guide the child.
Another challenge that Ms. Gumbs brought forward was the issue of poor dietary practices: “This is a case where the children do not eat before school, but then they prioritise going down to Papa-Lash’s food van before school, wasting time to get breakfast.” She encouraged parents to make sure their children get a healthy breakfast, preferably eaten at home or have them pack something nutritious in their bags to walk with.
The issue of the use of cell phones in class was also addressed. Ms. Gumbs noted that while phone technology is a means of helping the children access their lessons and activities on Google Classroom, for example, there are some children who abuse the phone in class. She said other teachers have complained to her about having to speak to students over and over again about putting away their cell phones.
This matter was a hot topic which garnered much feedback from the parents who had split views on the matter. Some felt that phones should be banned from the classroom, while others felt that phones were vital to the learning experience in today’s technological world.
In addition, Ms. Gumbs displayed pictures of easy-to-conceal weapons which were confiscated from students.
Next, Tr. Sarah Francis, Head of Year 1, interjected that because of limited time, all challenges were not presented in depth. She said, “I would like to add to the list sexual intimacy and sexual favours. Students indulge in this type of behaviour and then vehemently deny it, until we are able to check the cameras to verify.”
Overall, the meeting was enlightening and informative for the parents. The Principal remarked: “These are not trivial matters, and the reason why we came today is to make an effort towards having a peaceful school, because the morning shift from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. is a very turbulent one.”
The Principal would like to inform parents that there will be a general paren t-teachers meeting on Wednesday, 6th April, at 5:30 p.m. at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium.
